Lower Back Causing You Grief? These Hip Stretches Can Help Ease the Pain

Updated on May 20, 2019 at 5:15 PM

If you suffer from an achy lower back you are not alone. Low back pain is one of the most common health complaints in the US with around 80 percent of Americans experiencing it sometime in their lives. One of the culprits creating pain might just be our sedentary lifestyle. As a nation we sit a lot! Be it at a desk, in a car, or in front of the TV, all this sitting makes for tight hips. From my time teaching Pilates, I can tell you that tight hips lead to low back pain. The reasons are varied, but sitting can create muscle imbalances, like dormant butt syndrome, where tight hips can interfere with the glutes working. Sitting also creates tight muscles around the hip joint — one in particular, the psoas, connects the upper thigh bone (aka femur) to the lower spine. When tight, this powerful hip flexor pulls on the spine and aggravates it.

On top of all this sitting, some of our favorite activities, like running and cycling, also make for tight hips. As a preventative measure, it is time to start regularly stretching all of the muscles around the hip joint, since I firmly believe happy and loose hips help your spine.

Keep scrolling for six stretches I recommend doing consistently. The best time to stretch is after working out — and that workout can be walking, which is also great for tender lower backs — since warm muscles are more elastic.

Stretch Your Psoas

A major hip flexor muscle, the psoas, not only draws the thigh toward the abdomen, but is also attached to the five lowest vertebrae of the spine. When the psoas shortens and tightens from activities like running, sitting, cycling, or even sleeping in a tight fetal position, it can pull on the vertebrae, creating a sensation of tightness in the low back. The good news is that stretching out the hip flexors can alleviate a lot of lower back pain. Once you are warmed up, and after every workout, you should stretch your psoas.

Lunge With Reach and Twist

From your runner's lunge, place your right hand on the outside of your right foot. Reach your left hand to the ceiling, increasing the stretch on the left side of the body. Hold for 10 to 15 seconds.
Then place the left hand at the inside of your right foot. Twist to the right and reach your right arm to the ceiling. Hold this position for 10 to 15 seconds.
Repeat this sequence on the other side.

Stretch Your Psoas

Get an even deeper stretch with this passive psoas stretch. You place your pelvis on the roller and let gravity do the rest.

Roller Psoas Stretch

Place the roller perpendicular to your spine and lie with your sacrum (the back of your pelvis) — not your spine — on the roller.
Pull your left knee toward your chest, keeping your right heel on the ground. You should feel a stretch on the front of your right hip.
To increase the stretch, reach your right arm over your head and open your left knee slightly out to the left.
Hold for 30 seconds, then switch legs. Repeat as needed.

Stretch Your Quads

The main function of the quads is to straighten the knee, but one of the muscles in this group of four also flexes the hip joint and brings the thigh bone toward the torso. To keep the hip joint fully mobile, it helps to keep this portion of the quad, the rectus femoris, flexible. This stretch can help alleviate knee pain, too.

Kneeling Quad Stretch

Begin in a runner's lunge with your right foot forward. Slowly lower your left knee to the floor.
Take a few moments to find balance, and once you're stabilized, grab your left foot with your left hand.
Hold for 30 seconds, then switch sides.

Stretch Your Piriformis

Yeah. You might not have heard of the piriformis, but when it's tight you likely feel it! It is deep, under your glutes, and connects your sacrum, the back part of your pelvis, to your hip. When it's shortened and tight, it can throw off your gait, your squat, and more. The Figure 4 stretch is a safe and gentle way to lengthen this muscle, but if you want something that goes a little deeper, try the yoga pose pigeon.

Figure Four

Lie on your back with both legs in the air. Place your left ankle on your right thigh just above your knee. See the shape of the number four? It is there, just upside down.
Clasp your hands around your left thigh and slowly pull your thigh toward your chest. You should feel a stretch on the outside of your left hip. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side.

Stretch Your Glutes

Strong and working glutes are crucial for keeping back pain at bay. Sometimes tight glutes are lazy glutes. You want to keep this powerful muscle group strong, loose, and functional. This is a modified version of the yoga pose cow face that really focuses the stretch on the glute max, and you can control how deep of a stretch you want.

Supine Glute Max Stretch

On your mat, lie on your back and cross your right knee over your left knee. Hug both knees toward your chest, making sure you keep a neutral back and neck.
If you don't feel a stretch, then work your hands down your legs, aiming for your ankles. Make sure you keep your head down.
Hold here for 30 seconds to one minute, then uncross and repeat with your left knee over your right.

Stretch Your Inner Thighs

Tight inner thighs can interfere with you gait, and if your walking pattern is off a bit it can lead to too much motion in your lower spine, which can create pain. Stretching your adductors muscles can help — you might not realize how tight they are.

Straddle Stretch

In a seated position, open your legs as wide as needed to feel a stretch in your inner thighs. If you're really tight, try sitting on a pillow to decrease the stretch, or try doing this stretch one leg at a time.
To increase the stretch, walk your hands forward while keeping your back straight, hinging forward from your hips. Hold this position for 20 to 30 seconds.
Then round your back, bringing your head toward the floor; hold this position for 20 to 30 seconds.